Category: Telugu

I just watched the telugu movie Arjun Reddy, and I must say, even before watching it I was pretty curious to watch it just from the teasers, trailers, posters and general hysteria. Also Vijay Devarakonda is cute, cannot lie.

Im not a huge fan of telugu cinema but I’m loving how the telugu movie industry is redefining its image lately, and steering away from mainstream clichés and ideologies that have plagued it.

I knew before going in to the threatre this movie was going to be bold, but I wasn’t expecting the pace and this level of intensity. Right from the opening shot, the scene shows Vijay and a girl lying naked in bed, covered in white sheets, on a four-poster bed in the middle of what appears to be a beach. It was a bizarre image yet serene and beautiful. Almost calming. And that’s what I loved about this movie. None of the kissing or sex scenes were overtly erotic or sexualized. There was nothing dirty or vulgar about it. All the scenes were meaningful and beautiful.

It made me think how ironic it is that this movie got an adult or A rating wheres in other mainstream Indian movies there is so much violence, gore, objectfication of women and even rape scenes and yet they get a U/A rating and we let kids watch that stuff like it’s no big deal.

ew. Gross.

Arjun Reddy features two consenting adults in an intimate relationship and everybody loses their minds.

awww

How is it that we have become so desensitized towards violence yet can’t handle even a little bit of intimacy?

I think the whole problem stems from the fact that in India, the idea of purity is reduced to virginity. When really there is so much more to it like purity of the heart, mind and soul. We cheapen the whole idea of purity when we say purity = virginity. And according to society the onus of remaining pure falls on women. But I digress. This is a topic for another post ☺

Coming back to the movie, yes, there is a lot of making out. And sex. And throughout nearly the whole second half of the film, he is high. On coke, weed. And I don’t know what else. I felt the second half of the film was too long, but I understand that the director probably wanted to show the whole process of grief and heartbreak Arjun was going through. The length of the film certainly draws you into the story and makes you connect with the characters.

What I loved about Arjun’s character is that he was so realistic (in the sense that there was some aspect of him that almost anyone can relate to) but at the same time somehow larger than life.

That being said, it must be noted that I don’t agree with the decisions he took or his lifestyle. He is, in fact, a complete psychopath, but arnt they all like that? The dominant obsessive love struck characters are all a bit psychotic, whether it’s Christian Gray or heathcliffe or Jay Gatsby. That’s what makes them so.. juicy.